There have been 3 previous YAVAs from Krakli. (YAVA = Yet Another Virtual Analog). The ideas behind the YAVA line is to have different Osciillator types combined with a complex routing through filters, Amps and effects, topped off with a flexible modulation matrix. YAVA4 will need time to get to grips with all its different options but the range of sounds that it can create will repay the effort

We say that Arminator2 is designed as a homage to the Yamaha CS80, it can not be considered to be a faithful emulation of that fantastic instrument but rather it’s aim is to offer patches that hint at the original instruments power.
Others say that Arminator is a stunning homage to the Yamaha CS-80. It’s one of the best emulations you’ll find and it’s completely free.
Version 2 includes the following enhancements:
The scaling of various controls has been improved, the LFO can now be synced to a KeyPress. KeySplit can be anywhere on a key across the 10 octave range. KeyTracking is now available on the LowPass and HighPass Filters. The Sine oscillator in the Line Amp can now also be a -1 or -2 octave sub. Mono Poly on individual lines and a Chorus effect has been added. Lastly line 2’s envelopes can be delayed by up to 500ms from KeyPress.
But none of that is particularly important unless you’re an existing owner. For anyone else all you need to know is that this is a fabulous CS-80 emulation with some great presets, for free, wrapped up in a rather cramped, small but functional GUI. The only slight weirdness is that it’s a 32bit plug-in for Windows only. But provided your DAW supports 32bit plug-ins or you use some bridging software then it should be fine.

Consider KS7000 as Arminator's Cousin. Not intended as a replacement for Arminator. The advantage of KS7000 is that it is available in 64bit VST3 & VST2 as well as 32bit VST2. We cannot guarantee the performance of the 32bit version but it is included in the zip file for those that might be able to get it to run on their DAWs

Remember the EDP Wasp? I should, I had two, and the Spider sequencer. Unfortunately I customised my Wasps so much that they stopped working... StingerMax is an homage to the little Yellow and Black buzzbox. It follows its layout to the main part but Stingermax also adds some extras, most significant being the 'analog' sequencer, its output able to be route to Oscillators or Filters.. Its a simple synth but still able to deliver great sounds.

K200 is a 4 operator FM synthesizer, packed in a slightly unusual looking but actually rather user friendly interface.
Despite its somewhat rough around the edges design, is actually one of the most intuitive FM synths to explore. The control layout is very easy to comprehend and the algorithm diagram in the upper-right corner (which also works as a slider for toggling through the 52 available algorithms) is very helpful for figuring out what’s going on under the hood. The knobs don’t have any labels underneath. Instead, a visual guide on the top of the GUI shows which knob does what, and this really helps keep the interface both clean and intuitive at the same time.
Soundwise, K200 is an excellent virtual instrument. The included set of factory patches crafted by Armin Kujat feature some lovely sounding bells, pads, and most of the other classics you’d expect to hear in an FM synth. The real fun begins when you start tweaking those patches (or building your own from scratch), though, as K200 is one of those synthesizers that can hardly sound bad. Record a MIDI sequence in your DAW and play it looped while you adjust various sound parameters in K200 – you will likely end up with more than a few great sounding custom patches that you’ll want to save for later.
Other notable features include a multi-mode filter (LPF, BPF and HPF) with a filter envelope, a master tune knob and octave switch, pitch bend amount knob, portamento, mono/poly switch and MIDI learn support. The synthesizer also includes two built-in effects: a simple reverb module and a nice sounding chorus.
Due to the fact that the instrument was made with SynthEdit, it will only work in 32-bit hosts on Windows. The CPU hit is surprisingly low, staying below 7% most of the time, even with heavy polyphony.

ADK is a spectral Additive Synth. with an additive oscillator which has each partial being modulated by one of four ADSR envelopes or LFOs. To add extra flavour the additive section can be routed through an FM section. ADK is not an easy synth to understand but one that can acheive pleasing results.

XAKT is a relatively simple Spectral/Additive synth. Consisting of 2 -16 partial additive oscillators (the Red and Green Sliders) the morphing between those being controlled by Envelope or LFO. The Filter section is rather unusual and was designed to further enhance the digital quality of additive synthesis. Either way the demo below shows why Xakt is popular with some. Again this is a plugin with the older multicore bug so you may be limited to a single instance in a project.

Want One Additive Synth? KWave gives you two with the ability to morph between the waveforms using Envelope or LFO modulation. Then it doubles it all again so you have the chance to create lots of dynamic and movement in the patches. Now lets run it all through dual Filters.. Additive becomes adictive!

RMPx is a hybrid Physical Modelling and ensemble synth which has a great sound.The Phys-mod section especially enjoys being played with a touch sensitive keyboard and can conjure up very accoustic sounding patches which respond to your playing style beautifully. Note that the demo below is played using just single instances of the instrument.

A collection of simple effects units designed to resemble Guitar stomp-box pedals
The Effects are as follows
KFAZE
KFILTA
KORUS
KPLATE
KSHAPER
KSHIFT
KTAP
Use one or combine them as you see fit, they are all switchable between Mono and Stereo use.

Cygnus is one of the older Krakli plugins but still remains a favorite for some, in part due to its distinctive sound. The story behind Cygnus revolves around Tim Conrardy an amazing patch creator and musician who is sadly no longer with us. Tim was very active in the early days of Krakli writing sensational patches for a number of Krakli plugins.
Tim was also very keen on Astronomy so as a thank you to Tim I created a synth which not only had a space themed GUI but which also had sound gebnerators that attempted to recapture recordings of sounds created by Pulsars and other heavenly bodies. It made an impact so later on I created a version with a more conventional GUI (created by another Synthedit developer OdO). Lastly as it had been featured on a video series called gearwire I created a further version that allowed the loading of soundfont sample files mixable with the original sound generators.
As this is an early Krakli creation it will exhibit the multi-core bug that existed at that time. This means that only a single .dll can be loaded at one time into your DAW if you have a multi-core CPU in your PC. Anyway, lets not dwell on that, rather lets blast off into space!

We have labelled M8Rx as a weird noisemaker but that is probably not doing it justice. What you are presented with here are 16 independent oscillators which can be triggered in realtime by a sequencer or by the keyboard. Each oscillator has a choice of 11 tunable waveforms and by using the matrix a variety of chip-tune type sounds can be produced along with strange morphing textures. A filter is provided to calm things down and an echo and reverb unit to add a bit of sparkle to the sound. Perhaps this short video illustrates the different modes better than I can describe them here..

The VSTi world is awash with attempted Hammond Organ emulations. S3O is something a little different, although some clever patch writers could probably coax a tonebar sound out of it its is far happier sounding like Church or Theatre Organs, Reed organs and many other organisms.With its dual banks of footage controls enhanced by the chance to use waveforms other than sines and added effects it can really shake the rafters if programmed correctly.

Many times we have attempted to create an ensemble plugin which tries to synthesize Choir or voice effects. Sad to say that VBox3 is another failed attempt, but is still included here as it stands as an ensemble instrument in its own right. Useful for pads or fill sounds but also capable of a little more its multi-oscillator, multiple delay techniques offer a sound quality that some might find worthwhile.

S3 is Krakli's String machine plugin and if I am being honest one of my personal favorites. The Mixfilla patch has ben used in more of my tunes than I can care to guess.
Again it is one of the older Krakli plugins and as such falls foul of the multi-core bug. If you do want to use more than one instance in your compositions a work-around is to copy the S3.dll and rename it to S3_1.dll, S3_2.dll etc. These new instances should then be available to select in your DAW

Where to start with Komodo..?
We have described it as a semi-modular because you have a vast range of self contained synth engines, Virtual Analog, Physical modelling, FM, and Bell tones (Ring mod) all routable via filters, Vector controllers, and a variety of envelopes and LFOs then on to multiple effects stages.
Each sound engine can furthermore be controlled by a combination of Keyboard, Sequencers or Arpeggiators.Things can get crazy very quickly. Its also a very large GUI so some may struggle to fit it onto their screens. Komodo has historically not been that popular as it is a dificult beast to tame but persevere and you will be rewarded.